Any Tax Trainees here who are going down the ACA route followed by CTA as opposed to the ATT?

I've applied for a few tax trainee roles but I'm starting to get worried about getting pigeonholed into a tax career. Ideally I'd like to do the ACA first but I'm not sure how many employers allow that as a tax trainee. Most of their websites normally state that it will be the ATT followed by the CTA.

(Original post by Lily_2012)
Any Tax Trainees here who are going down the ACA route followed by CTA as opposed to the ATT?

I've applied for a few tax trainee roles but I'm starting to get worried about getting pigeonholed into a tax career. Ideally I'd like to do the ACA first but I'm not sure how many employers allow that as a tax trainee. Most of their websites normally state that it will be the ATT followed by the CTA.

I've known people in Tax who did ACA then CTA but I'm not sure if it's general practice.

Varies, I think it depends on which team you join and you may have to present a business case as to why the ACA would be more beneficial than CTA. From my understanding of the program here, the contract is to do ATT, it gets extended if you do well/the partners like you, and you get to do CTA/keep your job, ACA doesn't really factor into the equation.

This is the school leaver scheme correct? Because the grads usually do ACA regardless of tax/audit.

(Original post by Tokyoround)
Varies, I think it depends on which team you join and you may have to present a business case as to why the ACA would be more beneficial than CTA. From my understanding of the program here, the contract is to do ATT, it gets extended if you do well/the partners like you, and you get to do CTA/keep your job, ACA doesn't really factor into the equation.

This is the school leaver scheme correct? Because the grads usually do ACA regardless of tax/audit.

No, this for graduates.

I'm pretty sure that Macintyre Hudson do ATT/CTA for their tax trainess. And RSM definitely do that according to their recruitment page.

I'm pretty sure that Macintyre Hudson do ATT/CTA for their tax trainess. And RSM definitely do that according to their recruitment page.

Ah right, that shows my hubris I always assume people are talking about big 4. PwC certainly do ATT-> CTA for school leavers and ACA for grads. Deloitte varies by team but school leavers can do ACA.

I'm sure someone here is/was at RSM so they may be able to shed some light, I don't know much about MHA tbh. May be something worth discussing during your interview? Though be careful about how you phrase it, they might think you are only interested in ACA and strike you off.

(Original post by Tokyoround)
Ah right, that shows my hubris I always assume people are talking about big 4. PwC certainly do ATT-> CTA for school leavers and ACA for grads. Deloitte varies by team but school leavers can do ACA.

I'm sure someone here is/was at RSM so they may be able to shed some light, I don't know much about MHA tbh. May be something worth discussing during your interview? Though be careful about how you phrase it, they might think you are only interested in ACA and strike you off.

Yeah I am considering asking this at interview but a bit worried about coming across as not wanting to do tax qualifications despite applying for tax. I think the ACA will give me a broader knowledge, but I'm a bit wary about phrasing it like that as they could easily see it as me trying to broaden my options and not really wanting to do tax...

(Original post by Lily_2012)
Yeah I am considering asking this at interview but a bit worried about coming across as not wanting to do tax qualifications despite applying for tax. I think the ACA will give me a broader knowledge, but I'm a bit wary about phrasing it like that as they could easily see it as me trying to broaden my options and not really wanting to do tax...

Indeed, you will have to bring it up delicately. Perhaps you could pretend to be trying to find out more about the two qualifications, ask the interviewer what they studied etc. but come across with a slight bias towards the CTA.

I am unfamiliar with either firms recruitment process so can't advise which stage would be best to bring up such questions but certainly not during a phone interview (if there is one), I would say final interview or first if it is face-to-face with a manager, no HR monkeys present.

Just to add, I've got a job with deloitte within Tax (department is called global employer services ) and I will be doing ATT/CTA - but I did an internship with Grant thornton in corporate tax and they offered the ACA followed by CTA if you wanted to. It seems to be the more general the tax (corporate tax is fairly broad), the more likely you will be doing the ACA (someone I know in the same deloitte office will be doing ACA in corporate tax).

This year may be different.
For employers that provide the ACA/CTA route, they can now provide a merged ACA/CTA route that lasts circa 4 years instead of 6, but still gives two separate qualifications upon completion. The difference between the two is that the new "joint" qualification removes all the overlap between the two, thus making it shorter, whilst removing all the overlapping content.

This is an entirely new qualification which, I believe, starts sometime between now and September. Employers may wish to provide trainees with this new qualification as it is cheaper, just as good and requires less time.

(Original post by Lotak)
This year may be different.
For employers that provide the ACA/CTA route, they can now provide a merged ACA/CTA route that lasts circa 4 years instead of 6, but still gives two separate qualifications upon completion. The difference between the two is that the new "joint" qualification removes all the overlap between the two, thus making it shorter, whilst removing all the overlapping content.

This is an entirely new qualification which, I believe, starts sometime between now and September. Employers may wish to provide trainees with this new qualification as it is cheaper, just as good and requires less time.

Interesting. Do those undertaking this route remain 'unqualified' for longer than if they just did the ACA first?

I am studying the ACA and working in Tax in a top 10 firm. I'm on a graduate scheme though.
Does anybody know if my options once qualified will be affected by having worked in Tax for 3 years and not audit.
I, like most, want to get into industry once I've qualified.

(Original post by lemanie_pie)
I am studying the ACA and working in Tax in a top 10 firm. I'm on a graduate scheme though.
Does anybody know if my options once qualified will be affected by having worked in Tax for 3 years and not audit.
I, like most, want to get into industry once I've qualified.

Thanks

You can move into a tax role in industry - pay is better than practice, hours are shorter - downside is that there's less opportunity for promotion jumps. Moving into a generalist accounting role is probably difficult without any audit experience, but I'm also not sure why you'd want to.

A lot of firms offer the joint ACA/CTA scheme now. You get a couple of exemptions each way and it's an efficient way to qualify in both. All of the top 10 certainly use this approach, I can't speak for smaller firms.

I'm starting on an ACA training contract this year at a top 6 firm in Corporate Tax, I realise there are less but are there still opportunities to move into industry for a tax role or would I be at a significant disadvantage if I didnt want to study the CTA. Thanks.